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Amazon cuts Fire phone price to ignite sales

[SAN FRANCISCO] Amazon on Wednesday slashed the price of Fire mobile phones that stalled after launch early this year, becoming a drag on the US online retail titan's bottom line.

The price cut, which Amazon said would last until December 1, was the second for Fire and was included in a set of holiday-shopping season deals announced for items including Kindle e-readers.

Fire smartphones free of accompanying contracts with telecom carriers are available for US$199 (S$260) and come with a year-long membership to Amazon Prime subscription service which gives customers free shipping and access to music, videos and other online content.

Fire phones hit the market mid-year at a price of US$649 each without contracts, or US$200 with multi-year telecom service deals.

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Seattle-based Amazon in September tried to ignite Fire sales by dropping the unlocked price to US$449, and offering handsets for just 99 cents if bought along with a two-year service contract with telecom carrier AT&T.

While some Amazon products and services have been popular, its smartphone market share has been "effectively zero," according to the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners consultancy.